Business News
Birmingham’s cultural venues secure funding
Birmingham Hippodrome, Town Hall Symphony Hall (THSH), Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) and Birmingham Museums Trust have received grants amounting to nearly £9m as a lifeline in the fight against Covid-19. And this means that the City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) can return to Symphony Hall Birmingham, as its doors open for the first time in over seven months to enable live concerts for socially- distanced audiences. The Hippodrome has been awarded £3m, THSH
£2.53m, Birmingham Museums Trust £1.87m and the REP £1.38 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund. Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) and vice-chair of Performances Birmingham Limited, which manages THSH, said: “We are thrilled that what amounts to major Birmingham arts institutions have been thrown this lifeline by the Government.” Fiona Allan, artistic director and chief executive of Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “Over the last few months, it has been difficult to envisage what the future of Birmingham Hippodrome would be. We can now explore how we can offer more public
The CBSO is one of many arts and culture organisations to receive the cash lifeline
engagement including socially distanced performances, educational activity and implement crucial infrastructure to support Covid safety measures.” The CBSO, which received £843,000 earlier this
month, will return to Symphony Hall on 4 November to pick up the baton exactly where it was unexpectedly put down in March earlier this year. Nick Reed, chief executive THSH, said: “We will
waste no time in re-opening our doors. This news means that we can prepare to welcome audiences and artists back to our venues and will stage the first in a series of socially-distanced concerts from the CBSO.” The REP’s artistic director, Sean Foley and executive
director, Rachael Thomas said: “Without this essential grant there is no doubt that the future of our historic theatre would have been greatly compromised. Thanks to the support from DCMS and Arts Council England we can now channel our efforts into securing the future of The REP.” Niels de Vos, chair of Birmingham Museums Trust, said:
“The funds will help to ensure the future of our charity by enabling us to invest in income generating opportunities up until Spring 2021, which will help to make us more resilient to the future challenges we face beyond.”
Flexible: The Flexeserve Hub can be used by organisations offering takeaway and delivery
Flexeserve launch new food unit
Chamber patron Flexeserve has launched the only unit for packaged food that has been designed in the wake of a boom in delivery, takeaway and hot food-to-go during the pandemic. Flexeserve is the industry-
leader in heated displays and food-to-go units – exporting its products and services to major global retailers and independent outlets around the world. Flexeserve Hub utilises the
company’s hot air technology to ensure consistency of temperature throughout the unit, to hold large quantities of hot food. Flexeserve says it can hold up to 60 large boxed pizzas, 140 food orders – packed up and ready to go – or up to 140 whole rotisserie chickens. Jamie Joyce, chief executive
of Flexeserve, said: “All businesses in the industry are having to adapt to meet the growing demand for hot food – and Flexeserve Hub will transform pickup, delivery and so much more.”
• More patrons’ news – pages 26 and 27
St Basil’s graduation to take place online By John Lamb
Celebrities and business leaders are to take part in a virtual awards graduation ceremony this month for the Life Skills programme at St Basil’s, the Birmingham-based charity which works with homeless young people. The programme has been running
for 16 years and is an integral part of the charity’s support for young people alongside other development programmes. They include Employability ‘#You can Programme’ and ‘My Strengths Training 4 Life’ programme, which accredit the work
they do in Youth Voice. By being engaged with these
services, young people achieve a level 1 OCNWM qualification. The qualification helps them develop core skills like budgeting, cooking, independent living as well as employability skills and personal development. It also helps with move-on
options and passports into other learning and work opportunities. Some will be achieving the Award (9 credits) and others the Certificate (15+ credits) and a few others have achieved the Diploma (37 credits). Jean Templeton, chief executive
at St Basil’s, said: “We’re super proud of every single one of them. “This year, 150 St Basil’s young
people have successfully completed our in-house Life skills course. They have done this despite the difficulties that Covid-19 posed. They have worked extremely hard and deserve to celebrate. “Usually they would be
celebrating at our annual graduation event at a venue in the city. This year however, we are instead putting together an online presentation for them to watch from the safety of their homes. “We have hired the caps and
gowns as usual and our employability team are busy arranging photos and films with young people as we speak. “We are in the process of
contacting several celebrities and business leaders to get involved by sending us a short video congratulating our graduates on their success, with any other messages or wishes of support or encouragement they may wish to offer.” St Basil’s works with young people
to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities and prevent homelessness.
November 2020 CHAMBERLINK 17
Picture: Andrew Fox
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